Beau Is Afraid

UK Release Date. 19 May 2023
Certification. 15

Running Time. 2 hours 59 mins
Director. Ari Aster
Cast. Richard Kind, Nathan Lane, Zoe Lister-Jones, Patti LuPone, Armen Nahapetian, Parker Posey, Joaquin Phoenix, Kylie Rogers, Amy Ryan.
Rating. 48%

Review.

Beau Is Afraid is Ari Aster's third feature length film, following the critically acclaimed Hereditary and Midsommar. Beau Is Afraid is a film that struggles to be pigeonholed in a specific genre. It is not a straightforward horror film, although there are certainly horrifying elements within. Less horror, Beau Is Afraid is more of a nightmare of angst and despair. 

Beau Is Afraid is a sprawling, four-act odyssey - a quest worthy of Odysseus himself.

The wonderfully taut and tense opening introduces the audience to Beau Wasserman (Joaquin Phoenix), to what extent he is plagued by his neurosis and the stress he evidently routinely experiences with contemporary city dwelling. His apartment - a sterile, barren refuge - is located above a sex store called Erectus Ejectus and the walls of the building's lobby are adorned with obscene graffiti. One day, Beau returns from a therapy session to find a sign on his door informing him that a poisonous spider is loose in the building. Subsequently, through the night, Beau is presented with a series of notes from an increasingly irate neighbour complaining about the volume of his music, even though Beau isn't playing any music. This is only the beginning, events get more and more nightmarish the following day.

The second act sees Beau recuperating in the home of Roger (Nathan Lane) and Grace (Amy Ryan). But this environment still presents problems for Beau, mainly in the shape of the couple's displaced teenage daughter, Toni (Kylie Rogers).

The third act initially promises some form of respite. Beau is lost in a forest when he encounters a pregnant woman, Penelope (Hayley Squires) who introduces him to a wandering theatre troupe. One of the company's plays appears to be a poignant vision of the life Beau may have had, including a rather delightful and intoxicating animation segment.

The final act - the return to the family home - is an overtly visual exploration of maternal manipulation and Oedipal angst. At the end of the film, Beau sets off in a small boat into the peaceful and tranquil waters, but steers the boat into a Fallopian channel in a cave, where floodlights illuminate him. Beau is trapped in the centre of a stadium where everyone can judge him, especially his mother (Patti LuPone) and her lawyer (Richard Kind). 

Of all four acts, the final act is the most bizarre. This is where Ari Aster lost me.

Open interpretation can only be taken so far. From the outset, it was apparent that Beau Is Afraid is set in a heightened alternate state where our rules don't apply. On reflection, I suspect the best way to enjoy Beau Is Afraid is to assume that you're not watching reality, but instead a manifestation of the worst thing Beau can, and frequently, does imagine. To try and comprehend the storyline is futile. Beau Is Afraid is not a mystery to be solved or a puzzle to be understood. There is no point to this film. 

Beau Is Afraid is absurd, weird and offensive. At times, wickedly funny, with several laugh-out-loud moments, and yet confusing as hell. Beau Is Afraid is likely to be one of the most bizarre films of the year.  

Ridiculously self-indulgent, still it remains nigh on impossible not to be impressed by Aster's prodigious imagination and technical proficiency. Amidst the virtuoso visuals, elements are brilliant, bewilderingly brilliant, others solidly miss the mark. The film is reminiscent of the idiosyncratic excesses of Alejandro G. Iñárritu's Bardo, False Chronicle Of A Handful Of Truths.

Manifestly, Beau Is Afraid will not be to everyone's taste. I'm not sure it is to my taste, but the film is a laudable reminder that there are still auteurs willing to pick up the standard carried by the likes of Ingmar Bergman, Jean-Luc Godard, David Cronenberg, David Lynch and Gus Van Sant. For that reason alone, Beau Is Afraid is worthwhile.